


those you've known

by jasminemai



Series: those you've known [1]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, season one rewrite
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-08
Updated: 2018-07-08
Packaged: 2019-06-07 03:48:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15210248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jasminemai/pseuds/jasminemai
Summary: “We’re in Hong Kong, working for an underground government organization doing incredibly illegal and immoral things in the name of our country. We’ve been screwed since the moment we signed on to work for Waller.”"You're acting like we ever had a choice."





	those you've known

**14 thof November, 2009 – Hong Kong**

“So,” her partner’s voice echoes in her ear. “That could have gone worse.” She rolls her eyes as she searches through the mini fridge in their room. She didn’t want a pep talk, she wanted a damn drink. Preferably tequila, since it went straight to her head, but anything with alcohol would suffice. “I could have died,” he continues. “Then you’d really be screwed.”

“We’re in Hong Kong, working for an underground government organization doing incredibly illegal and immoral things in the name of our country. We’ve been screwed since the moment we signed on to work for Waller.”

“You’re acting like we had a choice.” If he was here, she’d be glaring. But he’s not so she slams her laptop shut with a little more force than is really necessary.

“Look, it wasn’t your fault. You did the best you could under the circumstances.” It was true. They’d had five hours to throw together the op tonight, and half of it had been used travelling on the back of a rickety old motorbike and the other half breaking into a secured facility. The facility was now smoldering and she’d some managed to crash the bike the moment she’d been left alone with it.

“In case you haven’t noticed, our lives depend on the success of the missions I plan, put together and do overwatch for. And I know that you put your life on the line because of me, but if even one of us screws up, we’re both dead.”

“In fairness, everyone thinks you’re in prison for a crime you didn’t actually commit, it’s not like death is a leap for you from that. I’m sure they’d make it look like an accident.” Neither one of them mentions their first operation together, where she’d coordinated Tommy’s abduction and subsequent torture. It had sure made an interesting first encounter with the young goth girl who was supposed to be his new partner.

“I want more from my life than this world with its death and misery, and I’d like to be able to keep living once I’ve served my sentence.” She throws herself onto the bed, her eyes suddenly sore so she rips her glasses off and throws them somewhere across the small room. “I don’t want to die doing this job.”

“You won’t. I promise.”

“I don’t know if you should be making those types of promises, Oliver.”

**August 8 th, 2012 – Russia**

“You know, when you disappear from the face of the earth and then pop up in Russia working with the Bratva, certain people start asking certain questions-”

“And here you are,” he says softly, glancing over at the dark haired girl sitting next to him at the bar. “It’s been a while.” He hadn’t seen her since the last time they’d sat at a bar together, drinks in hand and she had apologized profusely for what was about to happen. He’d been confused until the world had faded to black and he’d felt a slight pressure against his forehead. He curses the fact that she’d managed to catch him off guard.

There had been talk of spies in Russia for the last few months. He and Anatoli had thought nothing of it. Clearly, he’d been wrong. Although he shuddered to think what ARGUS would want with the Bratva or in Russia.

She shrugs a little, twisting her hands in front of the drink she’d ordered earlier.

“We were sitting at a bar like this and suddenly I woke up somewhere over the North China Sea.” She blushes at his words, her eyes refusing to meet his. For a moment he feels strangely satisfied at her lack of comfort. It’s not often he gets a one up on her in situations like these, not when she’s always so cool, calm and collected.

“I had eyes on you the entire time,” she assures him once she composes her thoughts. “Well, not me, exactly, but others were watching.”

“Nice to know that ARGUS care about the lambs they send to slaughter.”

“I’ll always care,” she sounds almost scandalized at the tone of his voice. “It’s why I came here in the first place, actually.”

“I don’t work for ARGUS anymore, Felicity.”

“I know.”

“You can’t drag me back in.”

“I know.”

“So why are you here?”

“It’s classified,” she tells him with a wink. “I had a hunch and your presence here in Moscow confirmed it for me.”

“So, you’re working?”

“I work for ARGUS, Oliver, I’m always working.” He rolls his eyes at her dramatics causing her to laugh a little at his expression. “Sorry, but yes, I’m working. Not right now, of course. But that is the reason I’m in Moscow.”

“How long are you here for?”

“We fly out in four hours actually. You’ll probably hear about it on the news at some stage.” He rolls his eyes again. He was well aware what Felicity’s brand of newsworthiness could be and, in this case, he wasn’t looking forward to seeing the aftermath of having Overwatch in the city. “Don’t look so worried. I’ve just been playing chess.”

“You still like pink drinks, don’t you?” he asks her softly as the bartender walked away from them.

She runs her hand through her hair a few times, brushing out a tight curl near the nape of her neck. “I’m not going to lie, when I heard you were here, I was half expecting to hear about a guy in a green hood running around.”

“I’ve put that on hold for now,” he replies. “The Brotherhood doesn’t like it when you undermine their authority by acting as a vigilante.”

“In fairness to The Brotherhood, I don’t think anyone likes a vigilante undermining their authority.” Her phone buzzes from her purse, startling them both out of their thoughts. She answers it quickly, her words a whisper as she glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes. “I’ll be right there.”

She places a quick kiss on his cheek, her hand ghosting down his side. “Life calls I suppose.”

“You’re not wrong,” she replies softly. “I’ll see you around Queen.”

“I look forward to it Smoak.”

**October 25 th, 2012 – Starling City**

“I didn’t spend a year training you in the art of deception just so you could come to me with a bullet ridden laptop claiming you spilt a latte on it.” Try as he might, be barely stops the arrow he’s sharpening from piercing his skin as her voice startles him out of his thoughts. She’s changed out of the clothes she was wearing in the office, instead wearing black jeans and an old jumper he has a thinking suspicion might have belonged to him at one stage. “You lie better to your family right?”

“Do I even want to know how you found me?” He packs up his kit before turning towards her fully. He studies her properly now, in a way that he hadn’t been able to back at the office when he went to her for help. She looks older now, older than Hong Kong, older than a few months ago when he’d seen her in Russia. Her hair is blonde, pulled up and away from her face in a bun. But she’s standing taller now, still. Completely unlike the girl he’d met three years ago.

“It wasn’t illegal,” she assures him. “So, this is your secret lair?” She traces her hand over the top of a monitor in disgust. “It’s not great, but you _are_ in the basement of an abandoned factory and you’ve always been a bit of a technological luddite. I mean, how many comms did I have to make for you because you’d lose them or wear them in the shower or sleep on them. And let’s not even talk about that time I had to rig up that tablet for you because you were so incapable of using it yourself.”

He rolls his eyes at her dramatics although they both know she’s right, so he doesn’t protest. She continues to inspect the basement, her bright eyes critical as she no doubt redesigns the entire basement for him.

“So, when should I give you my credit card?” He jokes when she finally sits down.

She glowers at him. “I’m honestly so insulted that you think I _need_ your credit card to access your money.”

“I was kidding.”

“I’ll have everything sorted for you by the end of the week,” she pauses as she tugs off her jumper, setting it down next to her and pulling his keyboard closer. “Will you be here to accept the delivery? Because I officially have a 9-5 now.”

He nods, standing behind her, his hands resting on the back of the chair. “What are you doing now?”

“Bringing up the information that you wanted from me earlier.” She gestures for him to sit. “I told you what I could, given that we were surrounded by people who think we don’t actually know each other. But I remembered looking into Deadshot a few years ago, after he killed a bunch of civilians. They were all paid hits and Waller wanted to know where the money was coming from.”

“Are we talking as an ARGUS agent and her former partner or as two people who’ve seen the worst of this world?”

She glances at him, brow furrowed. “I don’t think anything is as simple as that Oliver.”

“Fine.” He shrugs. “Are you still working for ARGUS?”

“It’s complicated.”

“Then uncomplicate it for me Felicity,” he growls. “What does Waller have on you that means that you’re still in touch with her and doing whatever she wants.”

“It’s not like that!” She retorts, pushing away from the desk. “Like I said it’s _complicated_!”

“What does she have on you?”

“You!” He’s stunned into silence. “She knows about the list, she knows what you have planned. She said that as long as I do what she says you won’t be recruited to Task Force X.”

“So, you work for ARGUS.” He states, pulling away from her. He’d made sure to stay away from her after Lian Yu because the darkness that had had reared

its incredibly ugly head was consuming him and he refused to let it bring her down as well. And now, she was still a pawn in the games Waller was playing. “That’s basically what you’re saying.”

He’s hoped, more than anything, that her working at Queen Consolidated meant that she didn’t work for ARGUS anymore. To hear that he’d been wrong, or just misread the situation simultaneously frustrated and infuriated him.

“I consult with ARGUS on an operation by operation basis. They call me when they need me, and I have full power and authority to turn them down.” She’s holding her hands up in surrender as she lets him pace away from her. They’ve known each other for three years and the nonverbal side of their relationship had clearly never been stronger. He knows her tone, it’s placating but she’s not lying. “I wanted to settle down, find some roots. I haven’t had a proper address in almost _five years_ Oliver. Do you know how nice it is to get mail? To get bills and have to pay them and have a regular takeaway shop and grocery store? Because now I know. And it’s good. It’s really good.”

“So how many tubs of mint chip do you have in your freezer?” Back when they’d both been working in Hong Kong, her only condition for having to share the tiny apartment they’d lived in together was that she had to have her freezer stocked with mint chip ice-cream and mango sorbet at all times, otherwise she’d revolt.

She raises an eyebrow at him and shifts her weight to her left foot with her arms crossed over her chest. “Actually, the convenience store in my neighborhood keeps it stocked just for me. They literally never run out. It’s great. And they always have the best cheap wine stocked for me as well. I’m possibly their most frequent customer, actually.”

“Your greatest accomplishment in life,” he teases softly.

“Are you sure this is what you want? Because we both know that this life, killing and revenge and gang violence, it ends with one or both of us dead in an alley. That’s what this life is. We both know nothing good comes from this.”

“He left me a mission Felicity, a purpose and you just want me to give it up?”

She sighs, rubbing her hands over her face. “No, of course not. But there’s always another way.”

“You said the same thing in Hong Kong and now Akio’s dead.” His words have the desired effect, and Felicity face falls for a second, before she turns away from him. She chucks a USB onto the work station.

“Let me know if you need any more help, Oliver.”

 


End file.
